Alicia Nagle reckons the top end of town is onto something with golf.
The bit the Zonely founder – granddaughter of Open Championship winner Kel Nagle – wants to change is how much of the working day it takes to get to know someone over a round.
The Sydney sports tech startup is launching Zonely Start (Up) Golf at Moore Park Driving Range on Thursday, November 26.
Up to 40 people from the startup community will spend two hours driving, chipping and putting with PGA professionals Axel and Scott. Anyone who’s never picked up a club is welcome, alongside regular golfers keen to get a professional opinion on what’s gone wrong with their swing.
“For decades, the top end of town has used golf to build unbreakable business relationships,” Nagle said.
“Early-stage startups have largely been locked out due to high costs, low access, the intimidation of picking up a club, and the perception that golf takes too much time out of the day for teams working around the clock.”
The subsidised ticket is $129, including the clinic, a welcome drink and a goodie bag. The going rate for a two-hour group lesson is normally upwards of $160.
There’s a practical reason for choosing the range. Over 18 holes, a first-timer can spend a fair chunk of the afternoon looking for their ball while the rest of the group waits. At Moore Park, a beginner can slice or hook away and still stand next to the person they were chatting with moments ao
Nagle sees a wellbeing angle in giving people who spend much of the week at a screen a reason to get outside together. For newcomers, she also hopes a couple of hours with a coach will give them the confidence to say yes the next time someone invites them out for a round.
The female-founded startup has run social golf events for several years and is seeking commercial partners and startup organisations to help take the series interstate in 2027.
There’s a tech business behind the golf days, too. Zonely is building a marketplace for players to find games, events, coaches and tee times. It plans to use its own machine learning technology to tackle one of the more mundane obstacles to getting out on a course in the first place – finding someone to play with.
Nagle is also looking to expand Zonely into other sports, alongside a capital raise in 2027.
